Background and objective

Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of millions of people around the world with dramatic consequences for the economy due to stringent restrictions to slow down the spread of the virus. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, the government of Myanmar has taken strict measures reaching from complete lock-downs with travel bans and closure of schools, offices and retail, to allowing meetings with a restricted number of people throughout the year 2020.

According to the report ‘Assessing the Impacts of COVID-19 on Myanmar’s Economy’ published by IFPRI, 2020, the national GDP of Myanmar was predicted to fall by 41% during the twoweek lockdown period starting in April 2020. In the report ‘Coping with COVID-19 – Myanmar Economic Monitor’ published the World Bank, 2020, Myanmar’s economy has experienced an estimated growth of 1.7% in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, down from 6.8 % in the 2018-2019 fiscal year with significant contraction shown in September 2020. The World Bank predicts the economy to grow by 2% in the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

The agri-food system (AFS) was predicted by the IFPRI to fall by 24% during the lockdown period. Although the lockdown policies provide exemptions for most agricultural activities, linkages to other sectors indirectly affect the AFS sector significantly. (IFPRI, 2020).

The World Bank report that Myanmar’s AFS has been surprisingly resilient during this economic crisis. “Agriculture output grew by an estimated 1.2 percent in FY19/20, driven by strong crop production— which accounts for over half of total agriculture output—and supported by favourable weather and increased demand for staple foods.” (World Bank, 2020). Whilst growth has remained positive, it is far below growth rates of the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

To manage the situation and to provide immediate relief to enterprises, the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry (MoPFI) announced the Immediate Loan Program to ease the economic impact of COVID-19 on industries. It is a one-year loan plan with a one-% interest rate for small- and medium-sized businesses (MoPFI 2020). During this period much research was conducted by various institutions on the impact of COVID-19 to the business sector.

According to the COVID-19 survey report conducted by EuroCham Myanmar in August 2020, the automotive sector is still one of the worst affected industries. The hospitality sector, electronic and engineering, food and beverages, and the investment and marketing industries also count among the most affected sectors in the second quarter of 2020: revenue losses are expected to reach over 50%. The logistics and supply chain sector and health care sector seem to be more spared from the crisis.

The same report indicates that in late April 2020, the government of Myanmar adopted the COVID19 Economic Recovery Plan (CERP) with the aim of mitigating the impacts of the pandemic on the country’s economy. This draft recovery plan is expected as a comprehensive recovery plan measures to improve macroeconomic environment through monetary stimulus, ease the impact on workers, private sector and households and increase access to COVID-19 response financing.

The Tha Bar Wa Project, funded by EU Switch Asia and implemented by WWF, SBFIC and MFPEA, has been set up to promote cleaner production practices amongst SMEs in the food and beverage sector. COVID-19 has affected the implementation of the project activities and thus, the project wanted to better understand the situation on how the pandemic and various restrictions imposed by the Government have impacted small and medium F&B businesses and their willingness to keep investing in green solutions. Hence, the Tha Bar Wa Project conducted research from 20-10-2020 to 25-11-2020 to take stock of Myanmar’s F&B companies’ current operations, the challenges and impacts of COVID-19 they encounter and their plans to resume normal operation.

This report will summarise the current challenges of COVID-19 for F&B enterprises; requirements of F&B enterprises to mitigate these challenges; and how enterprises may be assisted to improve their energy efficiency and wastewater treatment process during or after the pandemic. With this information, Tha Bar Wa identifies needs of the F&B industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and how the project can best assist enterprises in adopting cleaner/greener production practices.

The Tha Bar Wa project is able to assist enterprises by providing training and capacity building activities including linking them with project partner banks for green loans requirement. The information retrieved from the questionnaire will help to direct effort and resources into the most appropriate need-based solutions.